Festival of Dyes
The festival of Dyes takes place on the 6th day of the Clothier's Day celebration in Fairharbor. The festival begins at noon with the Commencement, during which the Event Commissioner or his chosen speaker announce that year's theme. With the announcement of the theme, the festival is officially begun. The people of the city return home to decorate their bland and boring clothing from the previous week with bright color and design related to that year's theme. As people pour into the streets to celebrate the afternoon is filled with brightly colored people buying colorful clothing and trinkets from street vendors and merchants. Shops and inns decorate their walls and invite celebrators inside for fresh baked goods and wines. At sunset, people gather at street intersections, city squares and whatever chosen event spaces are related to the festival's theme. At these gatherings the indecency accusations from the previous days are resolved through a practice most generally referred to as Dye Dueling. The win and loss terms are discussed between the two parties before the surrounding audience. This exchange is lighthearted and played out similar to a stage act, sometimes with additional people interrupting to provide "evidence" to support one side or the other. Once the terms are set, the two duelists stand in an open space with long paint brushes and small buckets of paint, each with a different color. The duel is fought using a simplistic fencing style that discourages blows to the face or to sensitive areas. The first to be smeared three times by their opponent's paint is declared the loser of the duel and is beholden to the terms of the agreement. These dueling gatherings tend to be attended by individuals of similar ages and as such the general content varies between the ages. The younger gatherings are explosive shows of power, ferocity, bravado, grace, and dexterity. Much of it revolves around securing a companion for the evening festivities. Older crowds of married couples continue long running jokes or even settle minor grudges, with cleverness, tactics, and trickery. The elderly select younger "champions" to fight in their places and coach them through the battle. Men fight men, women fight women or men fight women all to prove one thing to another to each other. The dueling lasts long into the night until all accusations and arguments have been settled. As the dueling wraps up, more traditional celebrations begins with excessive amounts of food, wines and dancing. People endeavor to continue the celebration deep into the night and long into the morning. The most dedicated are still at it when those that had retired to their homes the night before return to the streets to begin the second day and final day of the festival. The final day is continuation of the celebration, there are no structured events, but the dueling equipment is made readily available for rematches. Cleanup is conducted over the course of the following week. The dyes and paints are washed away, the clothing is added to wardrobes or hung over entryways as trophies and souvenirs and the city returns to normal. Category:Celebration